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Look for forest tent caterpillar

Editor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSUCrop Advisory Team
Alerts. Check the label of any pesticide referenced to ensure your use is
included.

We are
beginning to receive reports of very heavy forest tent caterpillar
activity in the northwest Lower Peninsula. Larvae of this insect
periodically build to very high numbers in northern hardwoods, oak and
aspen forests in Michigan and can cause complete defoliation for one or
more years. Trees that are weakened from drought or competition from
other trees can die if defoliated two or three years in a row. Forest
tent catepillar are easily identified by the keyhole-shaped pattern
along their backs: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/ftc/tentcat.htm

Note that this is not the same insect that builds
webbed nests in the branches of small cherry and other fruit trees this
time of year. These are made by the eastern tent caterpillar. Eastern
tent catepillars can be an eyesore, but cause little tree damage. While
forest tent catepillar sometimes make webbing mats on trunks of trees
when populations are heavy, they do not form “tents” in the tree foliage
like eastern tent catepillar.

Related Resources

David Smitley, Michigan State University Department of Entomology; Diane Brown and Erwin Elsner, MSU Extension; Joy N. Landis, MSU IPM; Paula M. Shrewsbury, Univ. of Maryland Department of Entomology; and Daniel A. Herms, Ohio State University Department of Entomology | “Protecting and enhancing pollinators in urban landscapes for the US North Central Region” provides information for landscapers and gardeners who want to attract pollinators and protect them during pest management tactics or pesticide applications.